5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

The Week Ending Aug. 19

Topping this week's roundup of companies that came to win is hyper-converged system builder Nutanix for its gutsy move to make its infrastructure software stack available for Cisco's UCS servers – without any help from Cisco.

Also making the list is Intel for its new technology that extends its push into the Internet of Things, Rubrik for its big venture capital win, solution providers that came through for their customers amid the devastating floods in Louisiana, and three IT vendors that have recently launched channel programs.

Not everyone in the IT industry was making smart moves this week, of course. For a rundown of companies that were unfortunate, unsuccessful or just didn't make good decisions, check out this week's 5 Companies That Had A Rough Week roundup.

Nutanix Brings Its Hyper-Converged Infrastructure To Cisco UCS – Without Help From Cisco

Hyper-converged system builder Nutanix this week debuted its hyper-converged infrastructure software stack for Cisco's Unified Computing System C-series servers. And it did so without Cisco's blessing.

The bold move provides Nutanix with a new route to market for its hyper-converged technology and provides a direct challenge to HyperFlex, Cisco's competing hyper-converged system offering.

Cisco is not providing any kind of support for the Nutanix product. CRN, in fact, reported that Cisco has privately disavowed the Nutanix UCS product to its channel partners, saying it would offer no advertising or joint technical support for the product.

Intel Debuts New Joule Module, A Potential IoT Game-Changer

Staying on the topic of ground-breaking technology for a moment, Intel doubled down on its efforts in the nascent Internet of Things arena this week when it unveiled its Joule platform – a systems-on-module built for IoT applications that packs high performance into a low-power package.

Intel, which announced the "maker board" product at the Intel Developer Forum, said the technology allows developers to take a concept from prototype to production at a fraction of the time and development cost of traditional approaches.

Intel has identified IoT as one of its growth areas, along with cloud computing and data center technology. At the Intel Developer Forum, the company also introduced the Knowledge Builder Toolkit to help developers create intelligent sensing applications that run on Intel's Curie module for wearable devices.

Solution Providers Come Through In Baton Rouge Flooding

Businesses struggling to protect their IT infrastructure against historic flooding in southern Louisiana are getting some help from solution providers that have been working to help both customers and even non-customers mitigate damage from the disaster.

Businesses in Baton Rouge and the surrounding region have been hit particularly hard, with some areas east and southeast of the city suffering up to 75 percent business losses.

Area solution providers, including Gulf South Technology and Puryear IT, have been providing remote IT services for customers who were unable to reach their businesses and offering their own call centers for businesses – customers or not – to use as a command center. That, despite the fact some of the solution providers' own workers have been affected by the disaster.

Rubrik Scores $61 Million Funding Round

Rubrik, a startup developer of converged data management technology, scored big in the venture capital arena this week when it raised $61 million in Series C funding. The funding, led by Khosla Ventures, brings the Palo Alto, Calif., company's total financing to $112 million.

The company plans to use the funding to double down on product development and expanding its marketing efforts.

The company also unveiled a new release of its cloud data management platform that partners use to help their customers manage data across a variety of physical and cloud infrastructure systems.

Trio Of Startups Launch Channel Programs

Kudos go to three startup companies this week for their efforts to leverage the channel to accelerate their growth. While startups in the past often waited until they had "crossed the chasm" to engage the channel and grow sales beyond an early adopter base, some IT startups today are realizing that there are benefits to working with the channel earlier on.

VoIP provider Ooma launched its Ooma Office Partner Program to recruit systems integrators, MSPs and VARs to help sell the three-year-old company's cloud-based phone systems. Ooma hopes to leverage the channel to reach more small businesses.

Startup Confluent, a developer of advanced technology for managing streaming big data, launched a channel program to recruit partners who can provide systems integration, application development and consulting services around its software.

And security startup LookingGlass is undertaking a major channel effort expansion, including rolling out a new partner program to recruit solution providers with deep security expertise that can help the company take its growth to the next level.